Status of sister, 16, delays Mesquite stabbing hearing

Tuesday, March 4, 2003 | 9:41 a.m.

The preliminary hearing of the teenage siblings charged in a deadly Mesquite child stabbing attack was delayed Monday, while a Mesquite judge determines whether the 16-year-old defendant will be tried as an adult.

Beau Maestas, 19, and his 16-year-old sister, Monique, face murder and attempted murder charges in the Jan. 22 attack on Kristyanna Cowan, 3, and her 10-year-old sister, Brittney Bergeron, in a trailer outside the CasaBlanca hotel.

Kristyanna Cowan died in the attack, while Brittney Bergeron was left paralyzed. If convicted, the Maestas siblings face the death penalty.

The siblings, of Utah, were scheduled to have a preliminary hearing this morning in Clark County District Court before Mesquite Justice of the Peace Ronald Dodd.

But Dodd continued the proceedings during a hearing in Mesquite Justice Court Monday after Deputy Public Defenders Daren Richards and Howard Brooks filed a motion asking him to remand Monique Maestas to Juvenile Court.

Defense attorneys also asked Dodd to limit media coverage during the hearing.

Dodd is expected to announce his decision on both motions in a hearing tentatively scheduled for April 8 in Mesquite.

The girls' mother, Tamara Bergeron, and her boyfriend, Robert Schmidt, were gambling in the casino when the incident took place.

According to police records, Beau Maestas told police the attack was in retaliation for a bogus drug deal involving Bergeron and Schmidt, an allegation Bergeron vehemently denies.

Brittney Bergeron, who is paralyzed from the waist down, is currently recovering at a Las Vegas rehabilitation center. Clark County authorities have gained custody of her.